Event Details

Date

Time

4:00 pm ~ 7:00 pm

Location

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center

In 2016, Dinner with Wolves Donated $34,000 to Defenders of Wildlife and Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center!

About the Wolves

Historically, thousands of wolves roamed wild throughout North America. During the 19th and 20th centuries, as the human population grew, people began to compete with wolves for game and habitat. Wolves were also viewed as pests and vermin and were slaughtered by the thousands. As a result, wolves virtually disappeared from the American west.

Our Mission

See why we work hard

Literally hanging on by a paw, the Mexican gray wolf is the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf. As of late 2016, there were less than 113 left in the wild, and trying to recover in wilderness areas in Arizona and New Mexico.

Dinner With Wolves hopes to show the residents of Arizona how their support can save this special animal within our state boundaries.

Thank you for your support.

Wolf Haters

Please check out this recent New York Times article that highlights some of the sad realities faced by wolves today.

The federal government removed the gray wolf from the endangered list in the Northern Rocky Mountains in 2011, essentially leaving wolves' fates in the hands of state fish-and-game departments, hunters and ranchers. The predictable happened: hunting resumed, and the wolf population fell. In states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, an age-old antipathy to wolves flourishes, unchecked.

In Idaho, two recent developments have alarmed those who want to protect wolves and see them not as vermin, but as predators necessary for a healthy ecosystem.

First was the hiring, by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, of a hunter to travel into federal wilderness to eliminate two wolf packs. The reason: wolves kill elk, and humans want to hunt elk. Normally the agency would just rely on hunters to kill the wolves, but because the area where these packs roam — in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness — is remote, the agency decided it would be more efficient to bring in a hired gun. A photo last week in The Idaho Statesman showed the hunter, Gus Thoreson, astride a horse, with three pack mules, looking like a modern-day Jeremiah Johnson.

US Fish & Wildlife Service

A survey shows that the population of endangered Mexican gray wolves declined 12 percent in 2015.

The Mexican wolf is the smallest, southern-most occurring, rarest, and most genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf in North America. Once common throughout portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, Mexican wolf populations were all but eliminated from the United States and Mexico by the 1970s as a result of increasing conflicts with livestock operations and other human activities. The Mexican wolf, a subspecies of gray wolf, was listed as endangered in 1976…

North America's Rarest Wolf Had a Bad Year

A survey shows that the population of endangered Mexican gray wolves declined 12 percent in 2015.

(Photo: Joel Sartor/Getty Images)

The Mexican gray wolf population in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2015, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service blaming the decline on an increase in adult wolf deaths and a decrease in the survival rate of pups.

According to feThe Mexican gray wolf population in the United States dropped 12 percent in 2015, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service blaming the decline on an increase in adult wolf deaths and a decrease in the survival rate of pups.

According to federal wildlife officials' latest survey, 97 of the endangered wolves were found in Arizona and New Mexico last year, compared with 110 counted in 2014. The decline comes following five consecutive years of annual population increases in wolf numbers.

"These latest population numbers demonstrate we still have more work to do in stabilizing this experimental population and maximizing its anticipated contribution to Mexican wolf recovery," Benjamin Tuggle, the agency's Southwest director, said in a statement.

Sherry Barrett, the wildlife service's Mexican wolf recovery coordinator, said the next step is to determine if last year's decline was just an anomaly or if wolves in both states are facing new challenges to survival.

Conservation groups say the endangered animals are stalling on the road to recovery owing to illegal wolf killings at the hands of cattle and livestock owners.

Thirteen adult wolves were found dead in 2015, up from 11 in 2014, and 11 wolves were considered "fate unknown," compared with just three in 2014.

What One Wolf's Extraordinary Journey Means for the Future of Wildlife in America

Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity said the telemetry receivers loaned out by federal and state officials to livestock owners need to be banned. The devices allow ranchers to track radio-collared wolves if they get near their property. Robinson said the receivers have been loaned out for years, despite high rates of unsolved illegal shootings as well as the disappearances of many radio-collared wolves under suspicious circumstances.

"It's unconscionable to give high-tech tools that strip the wolves of their ability to stay hidden to the very people who have expressed their hatred for wolves and oppose these animals' recovery," Robinson said.

The U.S. wolves are part of an experimental population released back into the wild in 1998 after the species was nearly exterminated in the 1970s. Their reintroduction has been controversial, with conservationists praising the return of a species to its historical range and ranchers decrying adding a potential threat to their livestock.

With the population hovering around 100 in two states, fewer surviving gray wolf pups could mean more declines in future surveys.

Fifty-five percent of wolves born in 2015 survived through December—compared with the 84 percent survival rate in 2014.

"Of the 21 wolf packs on the ground today, 10 successfully reared a litter through the end of this year," Jim deVos, assistant director of wildlife management for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said in a statement. "Wildlife populations vary on an annual basis, so the decline in the number of Mexican wolves counted this year is not out of character."

The Center for Biological Diversity says the issue is inbreeding—more wolves from captive-breeding facilities need to be released into the wild to increase genetic diversity.

deral wildlife officials' latest survey, 97 of the endangered wolves were found in Arizona and New Mexico last year, compared with 110 counted in 2014. The decline comes following five consecutive years of annual population increases in wolf numbers.

"These latest population numbers demonstrate we still have more work to do in stabilizing this experimental population and maximizing its anticipated contribution to Mexican wolf recovery," Benjamin Tuggle, the agency's Southwest director, said in a statement.

Sherry Barrett, the wildlife service's Mexican wolf recovery coordinator, said the next step is to determine if last year's decline was just an anomaly or if wolves in both states are facing new challenges to survival.

Conservation groups say the endangered animals are stalling on the road to recovery owing to illegal wolf killings at the hands of cattle and livestock owners.

Thirteen adult wolves were found dead in 2015, up from 11 in 2014, and 11 wolves were considered "fate unknown," compared with just three in 2014.

Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity said the telemetry receivers loaned out by federal and state officials to livestock owners need to be banned. The devices allow ranchers to track radio-collared wolves if they get near their property. Robinson said the receivers have been loaned out for years, despite high rates of unsolved illegal shootings as well as the disappearances of many radio-collared wolves under suspicious circumstances.

"It's unconscionable to give high-tech tools that strip the wolves of their ability to stay hidden to the very people who have expressed their hatred for wolves and oppose these animals' recovery," Robinson said.

The U.S. wolves are part of an experimental population released back into the wild in 1998 after the species was nearly exterminated in the 1970s. Their reintroduction has been controversial, with conservationists praising the return of a species to its historical range and ranchers decrying adding a potential threat to their livestock.

With the population hovering around 100 in two states, fewer surviving gray wolf pups could mean more declines in future surveys.

Fifty-five percent of wolves born in 2015 survived through December—compared with the 84 percent survival rate in 2014.

"Of the 21 wolf packs on the ground today, 10 successfully reared a litter through the end of this year," Jim deVos, assistant director of wildlife management for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said in a statement. "Wildlife populations vary on an annual basis, so the decline in the number of Mexican wolves counted this year is not out of character."

The Center for Biological Diversity says the issue is inbreeding—more wolves from captive-breeding facilities need to be released into the wild to increase genetic diversity.

Beneficiaries

Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities.

Founded in 1947, Defenders of Wildlife is a major national conservation organization focused solely on wildlife and habitat conservation and the safeguarding of biodiversity. They believe in the inherent value of wildlife and the natural world, and this singular focus defines our important niche in the environmental and conservation community and serves as the anchor for our organizational values.

Defenders' approach is direct and straightforward – They protect and restore imperiled species throughout North America by transforming policies and institutions and promoting innovative solutions – and this approach makes a lasting difference for wildlife and its habitat…

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center

Saving our wildlife, one life at a time.

Southwest Wildlife rescues and rehabilitates wildlife that has been injured, displaced, and orphaned. Once rehabilitated, they are returned to the wild. Wildlife education includes advice on living with wildlife and the importance of native wildlife to healthy ecosystems. Educational and humane scientific research opportunities are offered in the field of conservation medicine. Sanctuary is provided to animals that cannot be released back to the wild.

Dinner With Wolves 2016

Resources

Places for Wolves: A Blueprint for Restoration and Long-Term Recovery from Defenders of Wildlife

In 1999, Defenders published
Places for Wolves: A Blueprint for Restoration and Long-Term Recovery in the Lower 48 States. The publication provided an assessment of the ecological regions that could support wolves and recommendations on policies and strategies to facilitate recovery in these areas. Based on studies showing significantly more habitat suitable for wolves in the contiguous United States, we published an updated version in 2006. Now we release a third version, this time in a new format designed to keep pace with research, politics, laws and other fast-breaking developments that affect wolves and our work. This new Places for Wolves lays the foundation for our wolf recovery and restoration goals by setting forth the ecological, ethical, cultural and economic reasons why protecting and restoring wolves is important. Our wolf recovery vision, goals, the science behind them and specific regional restoration recommendations are covered in a companion series of fact sheets that can be updated as needed to reflect our efforts to assure the continued survival of wolves.

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center featured on PBS

Return of the Wolves: The Next Chapter, a new documentary, will be broadcast on our local Channel Eight, Arizona PBS this month. It’s narrated by Peter Coyote, and explores both sides of the heated issue of wolf reintroduction and examines the role of the wolf in Yellowstone, the West and the Southwest. Southwest Wildlife is featured in the portion about Mexican gray wolves.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience That Can't Be Bought…. Except For One Night:

Make your pledge today to safeguard the Mexican gray wolf, one of the most endangered mammals in North America, and cherish a once-in-a-lifetime Dinner with Wolves at the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center on April 19, 2015 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

How Wolves Change Rivers

Billionaire's Bid to Save Rare Wolves Ends Up on the Brink of Extinction

Supporters of the endangered Mexican gray wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Tuesday demanded that state commissioners reverse their recent decision to close down a wolf recovery program.

The program, which has operated for 17 years at a New Mexico ranch owned by billionaire media mogul Ted Turner, has successfully released around 100 of the nearly extinct wolves back into the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has called Ladder Ranch and two other prerelease facilities "integral" to Mexican wolf recovery efforts.